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my little holiday gift to Sherdog
pick up a copy of "Getting Things Done" by David Allen
this is not your stereotypical "self-help" book with mantras, outrageous stories of success, money making motives, etc...
this easy to read book teaches you a very simple and practical method of time/task management that you can incorporate into your personal and professional lives that will surely improve the quality of your life, stress/time management if you put it to use and make it a habit
in brief, the GTD method involves taking all the "Data" and clutter out of your brain and putting them into a, external system (outlook calendars, checklists, email, notebooks, physical folders, and more discussed in the book) which you have easy access to and regularly check/update. This relieves your brain from having to store and remember so many things, thereby decreasing stress and allowing for a more efficient and manageable way to accomplish your work/tasks.
i recommend spending a couple days reading the entire book and then dedicating at least 1 whole day (where you have zero distractions) to do your initial "5 steps" (explained in detail in the book) to get you started on the system by New Year
the crux of GTD method is in this link...discussing the "5 steps".
http://gettingthingsdone.com/fivesteps/
1. Capture - basically anything that grabs your interest or takes up room in your brain needs to be "captured" in some sort of "inbox"
example: i open my email in the morning and have a whole bunch of unread emails "Captured" in my "inbox"
2. Clarify - go through each item, or email in this case, and decide if it is "Actionable"....if no, you trash it or put it into a "Reference" or "someday/maybe" file. if yes, it is actionable, you do the task if it takes less than 2 minutes...if it takes more than 2 minutes you delegate , put it on a "to do/action" list so you can accomplish it when you are able, or schedule an appt for it
example: my aunt sends me an article warning about hypodermic needles on movie theater seats...i immediately delete/trash
my client sends me an email asking me to send him a copy of his invoice...since that takes less than 2 minutes i immediately do it
another professor sends me an email asking me to generate a large excel sheet and report by next week....since that takes more than 2 minutes and is considered more of a "project" with a timeline, i'll schedule a time on my calendar to get started on the first steps of that project
3. Organize - basically placing your actionable items under the right lists or categories
example: if i send an email to someone and i need to know a response, ill create a separate email folder called "Waiting For"....any emails i send that i need to be reminded of bc i need an answer will be dragged into the "waiting For" folder....that way my mind doesnt have to worry about remembering and forgetting that im waiting on Bob to answer a question i emailed him
if i receive an email from a client requesting some paperwork that will take longer than 2 minute but does NOT have a set timeline.....ill create a separate folder called "Action" and drag that email into the folder
that way, i can regularly click my "action" folder and see what emails are in there that need to be worked on during the course of my day when i have free time
4. Reflect - basically check and update all your categories/lists
every day or every week, ill go through my "Waiting for" and "Action" email folders to assess what still needs to be done
5. Engage - simply "do" the "next actions" required by your items
Example: that appointment i made in my calendar to get started on the Excel project on December 1st.....
on December 1st, i decide that the very "next action" that needs to be completed in order to move forward with completing this project is to have a brainstorming session
example: in my "action" folder i see an email where I am requested to organize the company holiday dinner
the "next action" i need to do to get this started might be finding out how many people will be attending
so i can let the restaurants know what we are looking for
the "next action" would be asking around the office who intends on attending the dinner and what dates work best for everyone...that would involve me "Actioning" by sending out a company wide email ...etc
pick up a copy of "Getting Things Done" by David Allen
this is not your stereotypical "self-help" book with mantras, outrageous stories of success, money making motives, etc...
this easy to read book teaches you a very simple and practical method of time/task management that you can incorporate into your personal and professional lives that will surely improve the quality of your life, stress/time management if you put it to use and make it a habit
in brief, the GTD method involves taking all the "Data" and clutter out of your brain and putting them into a, external system (outlook calendars, checklists, email, notebooks, physical folders, and more discussed in the book) which you have easy access to and regularly check/update. This relieves your brain from having to store and remember so many things, thereby decreasing stress and allowing for a more efficient and manageable way to accomplish your work/tasks.
i recommend spending a couple days reading the entire book and then dedicating at least 1 whole day (where you have zero distractions) to do your initial "5 steps" (explained in detail in the book) to get you started on the system by New Year
the crux of GTD method is in this link...discussing the "5 steps".
http://gettingthingsdone.com/fivesteps/
1. Capture - basically anything that grabs your interest or takes up room in your brain needs to be "captured" in some sort of "inbox"
example: i open my email in the morning and have a whole bunch of unread emails "Captured" in my "inbox"
2. Clarify - go through each item, or email in this case, and decide if it is "Actionable"....if no, you trash it or put it into a "Reference" or "someday/maybe" file. if yes, it is actionable, you do the task if it takes less than 2 minutes...if it takes more than 2 minutes you delegate , put it on a "to do/action" list so you can accomplish it when you are able, or schedule an appt for it
example: my aunt sends me an article warning about hypodermic needles on movie theater seats...i immediately delete/trash
my client sends me an email asking me to send him a copy of his invoice...since that takes less than 2 minutes i immediately do it
another professor sends me an email asking me to generate a large excel sheet and report by next week....since that takes more than 2 minutes and is considered more of a "project" with a timeline, i'll schedule a time on my calendar to get started on the first steps of that project
3. Organize - basically placing your actionable items under the right lists or categories
example: if i send an email to someone and i need to know a response, ill create a separate email folder called "Waiting For"....any emails i send that i need to be reminded of bc i need an answer will be dragged into the "waiting For" folder....that way my mind doesnt have to worry about remembering and forgetting that im waiting on Bob to answer a question i emailed him
if i receive an email from a client requesting some paperwork that will take longer than 2 minute but does NOT have a set timeline.....ill create a separate folder called "Action" and drag that email into the folder
that way, i can regularly click my "action" folder and see what emails are in there that need to be worked on during the course of my day when i have free time
4. Reflect - basically check and update all your categories/lists
every day or every week, ill go through my "Waiting for" and "Action" email folders to assess what still needs to be done
5. Engage - simply "do" the "next actions" required by your items
Example: that appointment i made in my calendar to get started on the Excel project on December 1st.....
on December 1st, i decide that the very "next action" that needs to be completed in order to move forward with completing this project is to have a brainstorming session
example: in my "action" folder i see an email where I am requested to organize the company holiday dinner
the "next action" i need to do to get this started might be finding out how many people will be attending
so i can let the restaurants know what we are looking for
the "next action" would be asking around the office who intends on attending the dinner and what dates work best for everyone...that would involve me "Actioning" by sending out a company wide email ...etc
